The Best and Worst of J.K. Simmons

The "Best and Worst" series profiles the best and worst work of an actor starring in one of the week's new theatrical releases. This week I take a look at the filmography of "The Accountant" star J.K Simmons.

Films starring J.K. Simmons that I've seen:
Spider-Man
Hidalgo
Spider-Man 2
Thank You for Smoking
Harsh Times
Spider-Man 3
Juno
Burn After Reading
I Love You, Man
Extract
Up in the Air
Young Adult
Contraband
The Words
Whiplash
Terminator: Genysis
Kung Fu Panda 3
Zootopia

Best Performance: Whiplash (2014)
I had always respected Simmons as an actor, but it wasn't until I saw Whiplash that I realized the true scope of his abilities. He takes a character (a hot-tempered jazz drum instructor) that doesn't sound like it would ever work on paper and makes into one of the most imposing, terrifying and fascinating villains to ever grace the silver screen. Simmons deserves every accolade and award win he picked up for this performance and I wouldn't be the least bit surprised if Terrence Fletcher ended up going down as one of the most notable film characters from this era.  

Worst Performance: Juno (2007)
For a veteran character actor, Simmons' resume is surprisingly devoid of a large number of duds. That being said, his performance in the 2007 indie atrocity Juno is a hell of an exception to his pretty impressive track record of consistency. Simmons plays the father of Ellen Page's obnoxious titular character and while his character is far less insufferable than rest of the asshats that populate this movie, he's still pretty god damn annoying and smug.

Best Film: Whiplash (2014)
What writer/director Damien Chazelle was able to accomplish with Whiplash is truly staggering. Chazelle turned a film about a 19-year old jazz drumming mentor (Miles Teller) and his demanding mentor (Simmons) into one of the most intense, riveting and satisfying dramas I've ever seen. In a decade that has been wildly erratic in quality to-date, Whiplash is one of only a handful of true masterpieces.


Worst Film: Juno (2007)
I'm really glad that I don't have to live in the world that screenwriter Diablo Cody created in Juno. Every character in this movie is movie is either a quirky cornball or a smartass douchebag that is begging to get punched in the face every time they own their pretentious mouths. I hope all of these imaginary people went onto live unfulfilling lives and died alone in a pool of self-hatred.   

Thank you for reading this week's installment of "The Best and Worst of". Next week, I'll take a look at the best and worst work of "Keeping Up with the Joneses" star Isla Fisher.